US musician reunited with stolen 262-year-old violin
- MingHuan Xu’s 1760 Gagliano was recovered undamaged, along with another violin made by Oliver Radke in 1994 and her son’s half-sized cello
- The antique instrument was lent to Xu by a private sponsor 20 years ago
After a month-long disappearance, police have returned a stolen violin made in 1760 to a family of musicians who lost a 262-year-old violin, as well as two other valuable instruments, when their Chicago home was burgled in May.
MingHuan Xu, a professional violinist and director of the string programme at Roosevelt University, was preparing to perform at the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival in Washington on Tuesday when the Chicago Police Department called and asked her to come into the station to identify three instruments.
Xu immediately dropped out of her performance that night, booked a red-eye, and arrived in Chicago at 4am on Wednesday. She identified the three instruments “right away” as the three that were taken from her home a month earlier. The instruments were all undamaged and in good condition.
With no suspects in custody and the investigation still “open”, it remains unclear who was behind the burglary or how police acquired the instruments, though surveillance cameras from a neighbour’s garage did capture images of the suspect entering Xu’s home around 3.45am the morning of May 11.
Though a month has passed and Xu has taken precautions to secure her home, including installing security cameras, the family remains disturbed by the home invasion that took place as they slept.